| directory |
| home | contact |
|
|||||||||||||||
| search | |||||||||||||||
SONNET 111O, for my sake do you with Fortune chide,The guilty goddess of my harmful deeds, That did not better for my life provide, Than public means which public manners breeds. Thence comes it that my name receives a brand, And almost thence my nature is subdu'd To what it works in, like the dyer's hand: Pity me then and wish I were renew'd; Whilst, like a willing patient, I will drink Potions of eysell, 'gainst my strong infection; No bitterness that I will bitter think, Nor double penance, to correct correction. Pity me then, dear friend, and I assure ye Even that your pity is enough to cure me. NOTES CXI. The allusions in this Sonnet to Shakespeare's profession as an actor are not to be doubted. To this cause the poet attributes his errors. Poverty, compelling him to gain a livelihood by catering for public entertainment, was the source of his faults and of the scandal which they had occasioned. He would fain, at almost any cost, purify himself from the stain. He deserves to be pitied by his friend, rather than to be blamed. 1. With. Q. "wish." 4. Publick manners. Implying vulgar, low, and probably disreputable conduct. 8. Renew' d. Thoroughly changed. 10. Eysell. Vinegar, a well-known supposed disinfectant. But here the idea is of a medicine to arrest and neutralise disease and corruption within. 12. To correct correction. To complete and perfect the correction of my conduct. Similarly we say, "To make assurance doubly sure." 14. Implying probably that the cause of offence, whatever it may have been, was superficial, and not deeply seated in Shakespeare's nature. How to cite this article:______ Even More...  Stratford School Days: What Did Shakespeare Read? Games in Shakespeare's England [A-L] Games in Shakespeare's England [M-Z] An Elizabethan Christmas Clothing in Elizabethan England Queen Elizabeth: Shakespeare's Patron King James I of England: Shakespeare's Patron The Earl of Southampton: Shakespeare's Patron Going to a Play in Elizabethan London Ben Jonson and the Decline of the Drama Religion in Shakespeare's England Alchemy and Astrology in Shakespeare's Day Entertainment in Elizabethan England London's First Public Playhouse Shakespeare Hits the Big Time
|
More to Explore
Introduction to
Shakespeare's Sonnets Shakespearean Sonnet
Style How to Analyze a Shakespearean Sonnet The Rules of Shakespearean Sonnets
The Contents of the Sonnets in Brief Shakespeare's Sonnets: Q & A Theories Regarding the Sonnets Are Shakespeare's Sonnets Autobiographical? Petrarch's Influence on Shakespeare Theme Organization in the Sonnets Shakespeare's Treatment of Love Shakespeare's Most Famous Love Quotes The Order of the Sonnets The Date of the Sonnets
Shakespeare and the Earl of Southampton Who was Mr. W. H.? Are all the Sonnets addressed to two Persons? Who was The Rival Poet? Shakespeare's Greatest Metaphors Shakespeare's Metaphors and Similes Publishing in Elizabethan England Shakespeare's Audience |
©1999-2021 Shakespeare Online. All Rights Reserved.